


Cross My Heart

by AlphaStarr



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Bodice Ripper Elements, F/F, Master/Servant, Sexual Content, Vampire Slayer(s), fefemslashweek2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-11 05:34:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7878481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaStarr/pseuds/AlphaStarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>"The pair of you look such a picture," Camilla would sigh, and stand between them, no less picturesque. "If only I could dress you up like this every night, for all eternity..."</p>
  <p>"You could," Beruka offered, curt, as earnest as ever.</p>
  <p>"It'd sure be nice," Selena would wink. "But then you'd be out a pair of guardswomen. I don't think you'd want that either, Lady Camilla."</p>
  <p>"You do raise a fair point, my clever Miss Selena," Camilla would pat her cheek wistfully. "A woman with my variety of influence, after all, makes ever so many foes..."</p>
</blockquote>When Selena's latest job leads her to a secluded country manor, she is drawn in by the mystery of its elegant, nocturnal mistress, Countess Camilla, and her taciturn but sly guardswoman, Beruka. Sparks fly in this medieval-era romance... but will their love survive against the light of day?<p>Written for <a href="http://fefemslashweek.tumblr.com/post/148651436302/welcome-to-the-fire-emblem-femslash-week-this">Fire Emblem Femslash Week.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Consider this prologue something of a teaser... ;0
> 
> FE Femslash Week begins on Monday, August 29, and they'll still post late submissions, so there's plenty time left to join! Expect to see daily updates on this one, corresponding to the daily prompts.
> 
> Beta [@aeternelle](http://archiveofourown.org/users/aeternelle), who deserves an enormous round of applause.

It was an odd thing that led to Selena entering the retinue of Countess Camilla of Krakenberg Manor, an odd thing indeed. With her bonds of feudal servitude magnanimously released under her former employer's new management, she had found herself largely without occupation or pay, save for whatever she deigned to do in the meantime-- freelance culinary work, on some days, mercenary jobs on others.

That freedom had been enjoyable, certainly; it was by far superior to doing dull chores for hours at a time. But so, too, did Selena eventually grow weary of her travels, and that was when she met a Mssr. A.

Or, rather, she had not met Mssr. A at all, but had been recommended his acquaintance by an old friend-- Selena believed he was going by Laslow, now, but she had known him by a myriad of monikers. Attempting to avoid the infamy of his old names, she'd wager, though she doubted he would ever erase from his past the one week he'd been _Azur Skyes of the Cabaret_. 

Regardless of his poor life decisions, Selena supposed that Laslow was reliable enough, and so she had allowed him to arrange for her a meeting with this Mssr. A, whose influence had landed Laslow himself an exceedingly comfortable job "gathering information" for a wealthy noble who wished to know how the common folk perceived his rule. After all, Selena had thought, she could hardly allow _Azur Skyes_ to appear better-dressed than she.

Mssr. A, naturally, was a peculiarity within himself-- a wholly silent man, who insisted his every interaction be epistolary in nature. A Madame M took his notes from him, in his quiet study of solitude, and had read them out loud for Selena, in the sitting-room downstairs.

"Your credentials are immaculate, without so much as a sign of dishonesty or theft," she had read from the paper, and Selena sat up with improved posture. "Your previous employers have answered my inquiry and described your service as wholly satisfactory. I have deemed that, though you are reliable enough to do whichever job is assigned to you, you only truly enjoy challenging work that does not commit itself to tedium, and thus, in my expert opinion, there is one place to which you are suited best: Manor Krakenburg. The Mistress of the House has most recently been looking for a girl to assist her in the home, largely for general maintenance of the home and its denizens. Countess Camilla is exacting in her specifications for servants; if you can learn to be wholly nocturnal, however, I do believe you would even _exceed_ her expectations."

"I'm something of a natural exceed-er of expectations," Selena lifted her chin. "I'll be nocturnal within the week. Could you inform Monsieur A that I'll take the job?"

"Bien sûr, Miss Selena," Madame M smiled beatifically, as if she'd completely expected that response. "We shall let you know the very moment we receive the Countess' answering correspondence."

And so, true to her word, Selena had adjusted her sleep schedule to be nocturnal-- well, nocturnal enough, she supposed. At times, she could hold out only a few minutes past dawn, and at others, woke slightly before it was truly dark outside. But by the end of it, she was well capable of staying awake for twenty consecutive hours when she truly willed it, and so she deemed the matter a victory.

Thus, when Mssr. A returned to her a letter bearing notification of the Countess' approval, Selena packed her most necessary and most sentimental belongings, then secured her passage with a caravan heading west.

It had been a strange thing, indeed, that led to Selena entering the retinue of Countess Camilla of Krakenberg Manor, but it would hardly do for a professional such as herself to arrive late.


	2. Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let the games begin

* * *

**29 Aug||Armor**

* * *

The first thing Selena noticed about Manor Krakenberg was not its precarious cliffside perch, nor its towering spires like spindles raised to the sky--  but rather, its staff composed only of women.

From the charming girl who'd let her in past the gates, to the tall valkyrie who'd offered to take her bags and show her to her quarters, down to each of the maids and gardeners, Selena couldn't help but notice that the entire manor was staffed with beautiful women-- exceedingly beautiful women, even, with skin that appeared soft even from a distance, and eyes bright with the shine of youth. Self-consciously, she wondered if it were even possible that she was not the only person of her caliber among them.

And so, when she was told that she would be assigned her duties later that night, Selena spent the next three hours making sure her hair and clothes were absolutely immaculate, polishing her spaulders to a gleam. She refused to look plain or dowdy, even in a manor where beauty seemed to be the standard. And when she was at last summoned to the breakfast-chamber, there she appeared as prompt as ever, her nose tidily powdered and lips daubed with balm.

But, there, the second thing Selena noticed about Manor Krakenberg was Beruka.

"I'm told your name is Selena," the woman spoke, uncrossing her legs as she lifted herself from the breakfast chamber.

Selena's eyes clung to her shins, dressed to the knees with plate; the dented guards that sat at either side of her thighs. It looked less like what a lady's servant might wear, and more like a queen's knight. Selena could not discern her coloring; not yet, in the dim lanternlight of that breakfast-chamber, but she looked stunning in any variation Selena's mind could conjure for her-- her thick brows in the black of a candle's flicker, her hard jawline when the light brightened.

She shut the door behind her, careful to be as quiet as possible, "Yes, that's me. But I don't know your name yet... that doesn't seem very fair."

"I'm Beruka," stated simply, and when Beruka stood to approach her, the faint light glinted off the steel of her gauntlets. Each armored curve down her forearm bore a knifelike spike, and Selena could not help but think that this woman was like a thistle, beautiful _because_ of her thorns, not _in spite_ of them. "We will be working together in the future... Lady Camilla suggested that I be the one to show you around the castle. We will begin our work tomorrow."

"I wasn't informed what kind of work I'd be doing... not _specifically_ , at any rate," Selena scowled, but did not meet Beruka's eyes. They were too intense for her yet, as they seemed to reflect every nuance of the flame, flickering, flickering-- "But. Um. Thanks, I guess."

"I require no thanks," Beruka answered, tone flat. "I do only as Lady Camilla wishes."

"That's thanks enough for you, then?" Selena ventured, furrowing her brow. 

"If she is happy," Beruka glanced at her blankly, as if she could not fathom thinking any other way. "Then I have served my purpose."

"R-right... okay," and Selena, deciding it was hardly any of her business if her co-worker was just dedicated to her job, decided it would be wise to drop the topic. "What _is_ my job, anyways?"

"Lady Camilla hopes you will become her second guardswoman," Beruka began, and when she closed the space between she and Selena even further, took her jaw, looked her in the eye. "My partner."

"I... this is," Selena sputtered, shivering at the cold metal on her chin, and how very close to her throat Beruka's knived wrists hovered. "What do you mean by _hopes_?"

"You'll have to succeed in the trials first," and a smile, slow and small, spread across her lips.

"I'll succeed, of course," Selena swallowed, and tried not to think about how very full and soft those arched lips looked. "But... out of curiosity, if I don't?"

"We'll find a place for you with the rest of the staff," Beruka released her chin slowly. She took a step towards the door. Paused, and as if it were a second thought, "If you survive."

Selena shuddered, something about the dark cadence of her voice filling her with something that was not quite fear, nor delight. _Anticipation_ , she thought, the word itself whispering in her mind.

"That sounds like a challenge to me," Selena leaned up, and with her next quick movement, pinned Beruka to the door, her fingers latched to Beruka's wrists _just_ out of the way of her blades. "I think you'll find I'm more than capable of succeeding. Whatever these trials may be! I don't settle for second-best in anything."

Beruka blinked at her, momentarily stunned from the force of the slam. Then, shaking the haze from her head, "You won't surprise me a second time."

"Yeah?" Selena smirked, and backed off. "Do you want to count on it?"

"You're challenging me to a duel," Beruka answered. It wasn't a question. "Lady Camilla will be upset if I slay you before she has a chance to meet you. She said this specifically."

"We'll duel to first blood only, then," Selena agreed. A little sardonically, "I don't think she'd be happy if I killed her guardswoman, either."

"Looking forward to a fight... I haven't felt this way in a long time. Very well," Beruka's lips twitched upwards. "I accept your challenge. To first blood..."

And she drew her blades up, lunged at Selena, hoping to make it quick with a brief cut beneath her spaulder. Between them, though, Selena was more deft, her armor of less weight, and she quickly lunged, drawing her blade from her belt in one quick movement. It clanked uselessly against Beruka's hipguard, though, and Beruka swung, trapped Selena's sword in between the two blades of her left gauntlet.

Selena withdrew her sword, dealt a couple quick, vicious swings now that she knew for certain Beruka was no amateur. And Beruka, on her behalf, blocked each one, bringing the blades before her face to form a shield of her gauntlets alone.

"You fight well," Selena huffed, narrowing her eyes as the duel intensified. "I can see why your liege wants someone who can match your pace."

"You think that's you?" Beruka asked-- not cruelly, Selena could tell. A genuine question.

"I can match your pace," Selena replied, and lashed out at a whorl, Beruka's blades clanging harmlessly atop her spaulders. "I can match your pace and then some!"

Beruka lashed out, lunging for Selena's side, only to be met by the flat of Selena's blade, a makeshift shield itself. She pulled back, narrowly avoided getting hit by the tip when Selena swung her counterattack, leaped to the top of the breakfast table. Their eyes met.

Beruka, at last, took pause-- glanced at Selena. "I think I like that."

"Like _what_?" Selena frowned, charging at her at a run, blade outstretched in a strike.

 _Click_. Beruka's bladed gloves trapped Selena's sword in on either side, and she let a smile, low and dark, cross her features.

"Your pace," Beruka breathed, and leaned in so close that Selena could very nearly feel her breath upon her face.

Selena looked at her face, then, really _looked_ at it. Her jaw, square and obstinate, but soft in this light. A nose that Selena thought might have been adorable on a child's face, solemn and pert when placed upon Beruka's stony expression. Eyes that seemed to reflect every nuance of light in that room, silently, expressionlessly burning with delight in the duel. Her lips, the fires flickering over it, in yellows, oranges, pinks. How very soft they looked, then.

And then, just as Beruka's lips drew closer, then closer still...

A clap. And then another, louder, that drew Selena from her reverie. Then, from the doorway, a slow round of applause. She turned her head.

The only way Selena could describe the woman that stood there... the only word she could think of was 'stunning.' Elegant, sloping shoulders, and softly curved hips, a low-cut dress. Her lips, full-- and delicately dressed with a colored balm. Hair that seemed to cascade, rather than fall as most ladies' was wont. Everything about her seemed to carry a tremendous volume, a luxuriant fullness that she wore beautifully.

A slow smile spread across those lips-- gorgeous, Selena thought. Pouty. Even... kissable. Her eyes flickered back to Beruka's, found that her lip had become trapped between her teeth as she eyed the woman in the doorway. She wasn't completely sure who she wanted more, this challenging and stoic guardswoman or the woman who had interrupted them, surely sculpted by the gods themselves.

"That's enough, Beruka... you'll make me jealous if you continue any longer," she smiled sweetly, and added, "Then I would have to remove your legs to prevent you from running out of my arms... and then where would we be?"

"Lady Camilla," Beruka replied, immediately dropping her battle stance, falling to one knee.

"Lady... Camilla?" Selena's eyes widened, and she quickly sheathed her sword, mimicking Beruka's form.

"Who might this lovely, lovely young lady be?" Camilla purred, sauntering over to stroke the top of Selena's head. "I think I would have remembered seeing her in my retinue before."

"My name is Selena," she mumbled, her face flushing bright red at even that single touch, cool against her heated scalp. "The one Monsieur A..."

"Ah, so you're Selena, then," and Camilla smiled a smile that made Selena feel as if she'd fallen into a wolves' den. "Monsieur A made no exaggerations about your combat prowess, then... mm. Or about your impressive beauty."

"I, uh," Selena fumbled for words, though none came readily to her lips. At last, she settled for, "There wasn't any need to... but. Thanks for the compliment, I guess."

"Oh, my. I think I'll like you... " Camilla laughed, a sound rather too delicate for a woman who had threatened to cut off the legs of her own guard mere minutes ago. "Beruka!"

"Yes, my liege?" Beruka answered, looking as grim as ever.

"Cancel the trials," Camilla chuckled, concealing her grin behind a velvet sleeve. "I'll take her."

"Lady... Camilla?" Beruka questioned, turning her head in slight confusion.

"Oh, Beruka, darling... I'm sure you know as well as I do," Camilla smiled, close-lipped, and drew her nail down the part of Selena's hair. "Fighting with you is more dangerous than any other trial I could possibly devise."

"As you wish," Beruka replied, and shook her head, returning to her blank expression.

"I'm afraid I have business this evening," Camilla drew her fingers from Selena's scalp reluctantly. "But I do hope you ladies will manage to spend the rest of the day at ease, now that the fighting's gotten out of the way. Beruka, dear, perhaps you can show her the gardens... and, Selena?"

"Yes, Lady Camilla?" Selena breathed, suddenly feeling less shaky than she'd been with Camilla's fingers on her.

"Please do be more careful in the future," and Camilla's smile deepened. With a hearty laugh as she exited the room, "Beruka likes to wear poisoned lipstick."

And this time, when Selena looked upon her, saw the glint of the light against Beruka's lips-- she saw that the pink she'd imagined had in truth been grey, and shuddered.

 _Anticipation_ , she thought, and wondered how soon she could acquire ingredients for a solid set of antidotes.


	3. Day 2

* * *

**30 Aug||Endings**

* * *

Working for Lady Camilla that year was something of a torturous delight.

Largely, Selena's work was as simple as Laslow's had seemed-- there were odd days where she was tasked to go into town during normal waking hours, but that sort of job was largely saved for the day-to-day servants of the house. She and Beruka would, about thrice a week, depart the home on some variety of training mission-- typically in hunting upon Camilla's lands, wrestling full grown stags, their horns as strong as clubs, with their bare hands. Slaying bears with Selena's arrows, at a distance, and then with their blades once it had closed upon them. There were, indeed, those rare days where Beruka would walk into her chambers in the early evening, still wearing a too-large nightgown, and hold out to her a memo-- a request from their liege to scout out bits and pieces of information from so-and-so, who was suspected of lawlessness or treachery.

But most nights, as the mood struck her, the Countess kept them close at hand. Some nights were spent patrolling the borders of her estate on lengthy, moonlit walks, all three of them fully armed-- Selena and Beruka in their regular armor, but Lady Camilla in a scant gown and carrying an axe: "The only thing I need," she'd said. Some nights were spent playing droll games of chess by the lantern light, and though Selena always had to squint a little to ensure she was moving the correct piece, she found her eyes adjusting to the dim lighting more readily than she'd expected.

Some nights were spent where the Countess would go through her vast wardrobe, a wardrobe impossibly vast for one woman to wear within a lifetime, and insist that Selena and Beruka wear the finest of the clothes within. Those nights where Selena would be stripped to her undergarments, and Camilla would smooth over the soft fringes of her hair with pointed nails, and sigh, "You would look a dream in this century chiffon..."

And then, she would strip Beruka the same way, and assess her, caressing her shockingly delicate hips, the upper cusp of her corset, "And you, dear Beruka... I would love it if you'd try on these leggings, this embroidered tunic."

"Yes, my lady," Beruka would say, and Selena could hardly allow herself to be upstaged. 

She would bite her lip as Camilla's fingers pressed into the softness of her flesh, tying in place a corset, just tight enough to hold in place. Very little could be done about Selena's bust, but the cuts and fabrics Camilla chose always flattered her, and when at last her liege had anointed them both with their favorites of her perfume collection (Selena with a rose perfume, tinged with citrus; Beruka with something that smelled of fresh gunpowder tea), Selena felt more the part of a spoilt princess than she ever had.

"The pair of you look such a picture," Camilla would sigh, and stand between them, no less picturesque. "If only I could dress you up like this every night, for all eternity..."

"You could," Beruka offered, curt, as earnest as ever.

"It'd sure be nice," Selena would wink. "But then you'd be out a pair of guardswomen. I don't think you'd want that either, Lady Camilla."

"You do raise a fair point, my clever Miss Selena," Camilla would pat her cheek wistfully. "A woman with my variety of influence, after all, makes ever so many foes..."

And so, on those days, they would spend their in each other's company, doing little more than admiring the figures of the gowns upon each other. But on this night, far into the late hours of the evening, Lady Camilla invited the both of them to dine with her, when they were finished washing from their latest training exercise. A servant from the kitchens had laid out a dinner tray, laden with fresh breads and portions of cut fruit, but mostly meat, freshly hunted, and just lightly seared brown on either side. And so, too, was there wine, and they were permitted to eat and drink freely when in their Lady's company.

"It pleases me to see you enjoy the fruits of our hunt, Lady Camilla," Beruka smiled-- a rare occasion indeed.

"I guess, if you really like bear... then who am I to complain?" Selena winked. "They're not so hard to hunt down when you get used to it..."

"If only," Lady Camilla tisked, shook her head. "If only it were just bears you would have to fight..."

And suddenly, she hissed, her knife slipping. A cut across her thumb-- deep, bloody, and it dripped down upon her steak.

"Lady Camilla--" Beruka stood immediately, looking for all the world as if she were about to run for a doctor in the dead of the night.

"No, it's quite fine... Selena, dear," and Camilla, then, turned her deep eyes upon her. "Please, darling, come over here."

"Lady Camilla?" Selena hesitated, but stood, walked to her side nonetheless.

"Won't you suck this closed for me while Beruka retrieves some bandages?" and Camilla pressed her thumb, still bleeding, to Selena's lip, painting it red. "I hear saliva has some miraculous healing abilities..."

Selena glanced down at Camilla's face, the way she bit her lip. Her figure, her skirts, pooling sumptuously over her chaise as she laid. And, though it was the first time she'd heard of _this kind_ of work being in her job description, she was far from opposed to it, least of all now when her movements were heady with wine and Lady Camilla's blood-- somehow thicker than she'd thought-- seemed to taste so sweet.

She flicked her tongue out, once, tentatively twice, and scooped the injured digit into her mouth, sucking slow, lazily, swirling her tongue around it and then increasing the pressure as Camilla's blood seemed to dissolve in her mouth, seemed to burn as it went down, down, all the way to her groin. She shuddered, and clenched beneath her panties. Ran her tongue up the seam of the injury once more, found that somehow, more blood seemed to flow than ever, and sucked harder in an attempt to get it to stop.

"I think that's done," Camilla purred lustily, and held out her other hand. Beruka, with her own lower lip pinned between her teeth, deftly handed her a roll of bandages. And there, Camilla wrapped it, tied it deftly as if she had done this a hundred, a thousand times. "But now I find that the temperature in this room is a little... much."

Selena's eyes stayed glued to her as she began to unbutton her dress from the side, and then the chemise below it. Her mouth began to water again, and she remembered how Camilla's blood had tasted-- sweet, impossibly sweet. Her full, voluptuous breasts seemed like they would taste sweet upon Selena's lips, too, even when still encased in her bodice.

"Maybe it is... a little warm," and Selena felt her voice drop with arousal.

"Shall I help you?" Beruka whispered darkly, her fingers playing against the seams of Selena's clothes. 

Selena protested, "But Lady Camilla--"

"Will be delighted to watch," Camilla finished, standing and letting her skirts pool onto the floor. She peeled away her chemise and dropped it carelessly upon her chair, standing in nothing but her undergarments.

"If it pleases Lady Camilla," Beruka began, her fingers tucking themselves under Selena's buttons.

"W-wait, shouldn't we..." Selena hesitated, bit her lip, something about the impropriety of it all twinging in her mind. A twinge interrupted by the thought of burying her entire face in Camilla's vast bosom. "Shouldn't we..."

"Oh no," Camilla laughed, light like tinkling bells but tinged with a wicked joy. She reached out a playful finger and undid the uppermost tie of Selena's blouse. "We definitely _should_."

Beruka took that as her cue to deftly undo each button on the side of Selena's vest, her pants. Selena, perhaps, ought to have wondered if it were going too quickly, but the haze of the candlelight and the wine muddied her sense of time. She could blame it on the wine, she thought, the wine and her heated flesh for Beruka's fingers were delightedly cool as they slid her neatly fit leggings from her thighs, dropping to her ankles.

"Lift your arms," Beruka hissed, something in her breath growing heavy. Selena did, and once she was free of her blouse, there was a faint rip, a nearly inhuman strength that seemed to take Beruka over.

"Oh, Beruka dear, that's hardly fair," Camilla tisked. "You've ruined poor Selena's _brassiere_. And here I thought you were better behaved than that."

"Did you wish to punish me, Lady Camilla?" Beruka's voice seemed to drop to a deadly hum.

"Only enough to level the playing field," Camilla smirked mercilessly. Her fingertip silkily stroked down the side of Selena's face, pulled her into her lap, "Watch closely, my darling Selena. Beruka makes undressing an art."

Her eyes, widening, took in the sight of Beruka slowly unstrapping her gloves. Several concealed lockpicks clattered carelessly to the floor, and then off went her leather vest, ever-so-lightly armored. The ties fell from her fingertips and she dropped the vest where she stood, tearing open the shirt underneath as if it were little more than paper, and disposing of it from her body with no more than a flick.

"I don't understand this... _art_ ," Beruka spoke, her voice low as she unclipped her boots, the buttons of her pants as easily as if she had done this a hundred, a thousand times. "But if it pleases Lady Camilla..."

"Oh, trust me, love," Camilla's hands slid down to Selena's bare breasts, wiping the line of saliva from her jaw, rubbing it in to her skin. "I am _very_ pleased." 

Beruka readily rolled her pants down her hips, her thighs, her shins. Her panties-- a delicate, lacy pair that Selena wouldn't have expected Beruka to even _own_ \-- they were already damp at her crotch, and she peeled those away, too. Undid the ties and strings of her corset, more like armor than any sort of figureshaping, and let that fall, too, so she stood only in her stockings, knee-high.

"My task has been completed," Beruka murmured huskily. 

"Well, Selena," Camilla rubbed her thigh against the inner arc of Selena's, coming away wet and sticky with each stroke. "What do you think?"

"Mmm," Selena groaned, rolling her hips back against the friction.

"How very apt," Camilla cooed. "Beruka, darling... come over here and _service_ our lovely Selena... I'll reward you for it later, dear."

"Yes, Lady Camilla," and Beruka, as close to grinning as she ever got, dropped to her knees, cushioned by Camilla's voluminous dress and petticoats.

"H-hey, what are you--" Selena sputtered, nearly lucid as Beruka stuck her fingers into her panties, pushing away the fabric at the crotch. Felt those deft fingers stroke over her pooling wetness, and she clenched as if to prevent Beruka from invading her completely. 

"Relax, darling," Camilla tenderly stroked Selena's hips, her sides, her breasts. "We'll be gentle with you, Selena my love. Won't we, Beruka?" 

"Yes, Lady Camilla," Beruka agreed.

"W-well," Selena bit her lip, rosy. "Maybe... if you're gentle..."

"Off we go with these," Camilla's fingers hooked into the sides of her undergarments, and Beruka took them, pulled them down.

The coolness of Camilla's thigh, bare, upon her own naked cunt made Selena squirm for friction.

"Easy there, darling," Camilla whispered, soft and musical all at once, holding her hips still. "Your time will come soon."

She kissed her, then, gently turning Selena's cheek to her face. Something pricked at Selena's lower lip, the blunt edge of a tooth perhaps, but she was too far gone to care. Camilla's hands massaged her breasts, tweaking her nipples between two fingers in a way that made her clit twitch, made her moan out loud. Beruka's fingers, slighter, more skilled than her own, pressed into her core, stroked her walls until she trembled, working into a pattern of thrusts, slow but hard.

Camilla's teeth sank into her neck, and whether she had broken the skin or not, Selena could not say for certain, but it felt like the heavens themselves had made their way into her veins, carried that rapture down her spine, her lungs, her belly--

And Selena gasped, her walls clenching around Beruka's fingers over and over and over again. And when she thought she had finished, Beruka lowered her mouth to Selena's clit, toying with it, oversensitive, until Selena reached her peak once more, crying out and nearly weeping from this pleasure, unlike anything she could have possibly imagined.

And then, Camilla drew her mouth from Selena's neck, and let the girl lay panting on the chaise.

Exhausted, Selena was exhausted. Her entrance, still wet, twitched weakly, but she could do nothing about it. And her pulse, she could feel it slowing, slowing... impossibly slow, then, as if every second became an hour.

"Sleep," Camilla's voice whispered in her ear, soft, and Selena let the cadence of that word lull her into nothing.

And there, as a silken tongue licked over the wounds upon her neck, Selena's life came to an end.


	4. Day 3

* * *

**31 Aug||Family**

* * *

Selena had woken from death with a new sharpness.

Her eyes, once merely well-adjusted to the dark, suddenly found that they could see vividly, brilliantly at night-- far better than her mortal eyes had been able to see even during the day. Her senses, they seemed to echo into each other-- she could hear the slow, steady pulse of her blood. No, not _her_ blood, no longer hers-- Camilla's blood, within her body, changing it as every second passed. She ran her tongue over her teeth, mouth sticky with faint remnants of wine or blood or both, gasped as she nearly cut her tongue on new fangs there.

"Welcome to the family," Camilla purred, and Selena could see her now in full color-- her hair, lavender, her nightgown in plum. "My precious little bride."

"What," Selena paused, licked her mouth. Did her best to shake Camilla's perfume from her head. " _What_ is going on!?"

"I'm sure you've heard of my kind, my dear Selena," and Camilla smiled, and for once it was a whole grin, two faintly elongated fangs balancing delicately on her lower lip. "Nocturnal... carnivorous..."

"Oh gods," and though Selena was sure she couldn't get any paler, she felt like she had. "A vampire."

"In a manner of speaking," Camilla laughed-- vicious, sparkling. "Though I expect the humans' tales have one or two... inaccuracies within them."

"You," Selena's mouth went dry. She pursed her lips, then remembered her own fangs, "You turned me!? What did you do that for?"

"Beruka didn't tell you the purpose of our meeting here last night?" and on her behalf, Camilla seemed genuinely confused. "Tsk... that naughty girl."

"Yeah, well," Selena flushed, thinking on the events of the night previous. "Even though she doesn't look it, Beruka's the eager type... even when we're just out training, I can tell that much."

"Oh, my sweet Selena, that's very magnanimous of you," Camilla chuckled, patted her head. "But still... she forgot to tell you that I wished to bequeath my power on you. For the three of us... you and I and Beruka-- to become one through the pacts of blood. It was a very important... proposal."

"Oh," Selena breathed, finally realizing the importance of the situation. "Well... I guess, after last night, I don't really have much of a choice now, do I?"

"Well... I know a man who may know a way to reverse it," Camilla pursed her lips. "But I will make this very clear for you, Selena... I could sooner drive a stake through my own throat than let you leave me here forever... and still yet, perhaps, it may be easier to merely remove your feet. I suppose those aren't completely necessary for the majority of what I have... _planned_."

"That will be unnecessary, Lady Camilla," and Beruka walked in, her unclean shirt still in shreds but with her vest thrown over it nonetheless. Selena was almost relieved, until Beruka finished the sentence with: "I would gladly do it for you."

"It's fine, I guess..." Selena harrumphed, crossing her arms and refusing to meet either of their eyes. "Even if I didn't get to choose this, exactly... I'm happy enough to know this much about the both of you."

"Oh, you're simply too cute!" Camilla chuckled, leaning down to touch her nose to Selena's. "I could just eat you up..."

"Ha... ha... somehow, that's less funny when I know you're actually capable of eating people," Selena laughed nervously.

"Don't worry too much about me... I'm a very firm believer in nibble-and-release," Camilla leaned in, as if it were a secret. "It's Beruka you actually have to worry about."

"Thank you, but," Beruka cleared her throat, attempted to find a shirt that was yet unripped among Camilla's things. "A page was sent to fetch you. I'm told your brother is in the downstairs foyer."

"Xander always does have the worst timing," Camilla sighed, began to slowly pull on her corset.

"It isn't Xander," Beruka replied, at last deciding to just steal Selena's blouse. "It's Leo."

"It's... Leo?" Camilla looked up from her dressing, quickly half-buttoned her corset and donned the nearest clean article of clothing, the nearest slippers. "Selena, dear, please feel comfortable taking free reign of my closet... I am afraid I'll have to excuse myself very quickly."

"Lady Camilla?" Selena sat up, rubbed the ache from her neck. Realized from her scars that the bite-marks had left her sore. "What's...?"

"She'll want us to be there with her," and, like a peace offering, Beruka held out one of her own brassieres, still slightly too large for Selena but far closer than anything Camilla owned.

"Fine," Selena sighed, and put it on, hastily dressed in one of Camilla's shirts, her own vest and trousers.

The pair made quick work of it, and when they arrived in the foyer, there sat Camilla, half-dressed, across from a very handsome couple.

"... and of Xander, and Elise?" Camilla's brow furrowed, more worried than Selena had ever seen her.

"They're all right," a gentleman shook his head, presumably Camilla's brother. "Both in secure hiding, both in the same location, even, according to my retainers. I've instructed Niles and Odin to remain with them, wherever they might be. I attempted to find out from the _Madame_  when Flora and I were still in town, but she and hers have left their home as well.

"And you're both certain beyond a doubt that..." Camilla trailed off.

"Unquestionably," the woman by Leo's side shook her head. "They say that it's worse than the purges of the 400s... even though _they_ number in the single digits."

"We thought you should know..." Leo sighed, ran his hand through his hair. "I think your home is among the most secure, being that it's in the countryside, but it _is_ a permanent residence. I would be cautious, and if you should happen to see the signs of any vampire hunters in the vicinity..."

"I'll take myself and mine, and we'll get as far as we can," Camilla promised solemnly. More lightly, "I imagine it must be quite a trial for the pair of you as well. I'm very sorry to hear you'll be spending your 529th anniversary on the run."

"534th, and," Leo corrected. "Whatever the case may be, it can hardly be worse than our seventeenth anniversary."

Flora smothered a laugh in her sleeve, "He means he's glad we'll be able to spend it together, at least."

"Do you need to rest here for a day, then?" Camilla offered. "There is strength in numbers, and if you've been followed..."

"Yes," agreed Leo with a deft nod of his head. "That would be safest for all of us here, I think."

"Excellent," and Camilla turned, beckoned her own guardswomen over. "Brother, Lady Flora, you've both met Beruka... this one is Selena, my newest wife. I hope you will welcome her."

"Welcome to the family," Flora smiled, her fangs glistening in the dark.

"Welcome to the family," Leo nodded, cautiously. "Camilla... your timing becomes more and more like Xander's every year."

Camilla laughed, a sound equally feral and beautiful, "A woman like Selena doesn't come along every century, brother dear."

"Yes, well," his eyes turned towards Selena. "I hope you know what you're getting into... Lady Selena."

 _I hope I do, too,_ Selena thought, silent, to herself.

Selena looked her new in-laws in the eyes, and swallowed her nerves.


	5. Day 4

* * *

**01 Sept||Legend**

* * *

Lady Flora had been easier to talk to than she'd imagined, Selena thought-- pondering her wealth of information, even though a full lunar cycle had passed since she had left the grounds of Castle Krakenberg.

A question, a simple mistake on Selena's behalf-- "So, when did he turn you?"

"Pardon me?" Lady Flora's eyes, quizzically wide, inquired. "You mean Lord Leo?"

"Yes... sorry, I guess, for being a little curious," Selena frowned, self-consciously rubbing over the scars upon her neck, still fresh. "But Lady Camilla just changed me last night, so..."

"Curious timing, indeed," Lady Flora chuckled a bit. "Lord Leo never turned me... we had both been among the vampiric legions for many, many years by the time we'd met. He was changed by a Madame A, whom I am told was changed by a Monsieur of the same initial."

"Monsieur... A?" Selena looked taken back, and wondered just how much of her current situation had been planned in advance.

"He's quite elusive to obtain an appointment with, even for one such as myself," Flora shook her head, looked out at Krakenberg's gardens wistfully. "I... am something of a peculiar case, in that I changed _myself_. Even after over four thousand years, I still don't understand just where I went wrong in the spell I was meant to be casting..."

"Spells?" Selena furrowed her brow. "Lady Flora... just what are you? I don't understand..."

"I suppose the other vampires would call me _eldritch_ ," she sighed, and then laughed, quiet, like icicles chiming against each other. "But in truth, my husband and I are very much alike in this manner... we were both sorcerers, when we were mortal, and now we are sorcerers and undead. It is only that he and his family are closer to fifteen hundred than my own four thousand..."

"Then you could fight those... hunter things you mentioned before... couldn't you?" Selena ventured, just slightly afraid.

"No vampire, however ancient," Flora shook her head, "Can survive an encounter with an experienced enough Hoshidan vampire hunter. In my first thousand years of life... I had a mentor who went by Gunter, older by then than even I today. And I will never forget the expression upon his face as the Holy Blade Rajinto purged him into the afterlife, when he begged me to run. I believe I could, easily enough, survive against a novice... but frankly, that is not a risk I am eager to take, and nor is it a likely scenario. The most recent generation of these Hoshidans number eight in total... and already, hundreds of our kin have been slaughtered."

"Oh," Selena shuddered, and for the first time, experienced true fear over her new status. "And... we're safe, here, in the Manor?"

"I think, perhaps, there is only one place safer," Flora sighed and looked up towards the moon, half-full. "The sea. While breathing is nice, we vampires cannot truly drown. If a battle were to break out over the seas, our advantage would be clear. Lord Xander and Elise had homes far closer to the port, where their family owns several ships... I believe Leo once said that their father was a merchant lord, when they were alive. With a large enough trading capsule and a sufficient amount of fish and bloodtack, you can stay at sea for a hundred years without ever once chancing upon a vampire hunter... that's where I expect you'll go, if this location is compromised."

And so, as the moon passed from half-full to full, and waned, waxed again, Selena mulled over those words. She and Beruka were no longer permitted out into the woods to train-- "Our wards do not extend so far," Camilla had said, her fingers brushing against the stalks of lavender that grew by the hundreds around her home. And so, the tall woman who had first helped Selena with her bags was sent to hunt during the day, and the petite chef would unquestioningly cook it, almost still raw, and keep the blood for pudding.

"If we must ever leave," Camilla would sigh, nibbling daintily at a piece that gushed red at her bite. "I do think I'll make the chef Countess of this place... the girls are all wonderfully discreet, here, no doubt due to Monsieur A's excellent selection. I'll make sure to reward them all for their loyalty, with whatever wealth I cannot take with me. Choose your favorites of my belongings now, girls, and I'll pack them in advance."

"So then you really think we'll have to leave?" Selena ventured.

"I think," Camilla laughed, sad and dry, "That I should be prepared for the possibility. This old manor has many, many memories for me... some pleasant, and some not so, but each one very dear to my heart. It pains me to even think of leaving it... but you and Beruka, and my own life with the both of you, that too is something worth saving."

"..." Beruka sighed. "Your leather cuirass. The black one. From when we met."

"You and I were pirates, then," Camilla chuckled, gently patted Beruka's cheek. "I suppose it'll get some use again, when we're out on the seas. And you, Selena?"

"W-well, you look good in everything, so it's hard to pick," Selena frowned, averted her gaze. "But I guess the off-shoulder evening gown... the silk one, wine-colored."

"Why," Camilla teased. "I do believe that was what I wore the night Beruka and I--"

"Is it?" Selena crossed her arms, tried to ignore that her face was flaming. "Hmph, I guess that's only natural if you wanted to look your best for me."

And so, days more passed, and the moon filled out, bright and open. It was on an evening walk that patrolled the estate's borders-- Selena and Beruka, still as fully armed as ever, and Lady Camilla who had deserted her scant gown for fuller armor, hip guards and spaulders and gauntlets, and the cuirass Beruka seemed to like so much. Her enormous axe, as it ever did, rested by her side. To Selena, the world had seemed altogether still... _too_ still, stiller than it had ever been when she was alive. Whether this was a result of her newfound immortality, Selena could not say, at least not until suddenly--

"Watch out!" and Beruka immediately leapt, catching in her hands a small, round bottle-- open, leaking, and one that certainly would have broken if it had smashed upon Camilla's head. Ice formed, then, as the liquid dripped over her hands, down her arms, seeming to trap them in place. It dripped, then, over her breasts, down her side. "I... can't..."

"Beruka!" Selena gasped, shocked at how quickly her partner had been disabled.

"Nice catch," and a woman, tall, jumped from her perch in the dogwood trees, her legs elegant, long. Her body folded into a defensive position; her eyes narrowed. She smirked, "I can't believe I almost got one of you with _Holy Water_ , of all things. I guess it's true that _your kind_ lose their touch, the further West you go."

"I won't let you hurt either of my darlings!" Camilla burst out, swung her blade at the newcomer.

A spiked club met Camilla's blade head-on, seemed to stop it in its tracks. Carried by a shorter woman, bearing horns that stuck from her hair, white as ash, who easily intercepted the next attack, and the next.

"You didn't think she came alone, either, did you?" the woman laughed, her impressive abs trembling with mirth. "It'll be a quick battle tonight, Hinoka."

"A shame," the first woman-- Hinoka, Selena realized-- pushed herself into action, swinging her massive lance towards Camilla's feet.

"Hey!" Selena moved, blocking its path with her own blade. Hinoka's arms, lithe and graceful, easily swung out from the rebound, and it was all Selena could to to prevent her blade from meeting Camilla's neck in the next second. "Who do you think you are?"

She easily backflipped out of the way, and the horned woman took the chance to redouble her attack efforts, her entire club lighting aflame. Selena thought she could even see fear in Camilla's eyes, but swung ferociously, attacking the horned woman upon her exposed midriff. Watched, horrified, as her blade barely scratched her skin.

"Are you talking to me?" Hinoka frowned, setting her next target upon Beruka. Camilla, with alarm, changed her course immediately, letting Selena cover her retreat as she rushed to intercept the lance, gleaming silver, from penetrating Beruka's throat, frozen in place. "My name is Hinoka, the second-oldest Hoshidan Hunter! It is my birthright to purge _your kind_ from Earth... to prevent you from destroying the balances of life even further!"

"We're not doing anything wrong!" Camilla shouted, and swung, her axe intercepted by the cross upon Hinoka's lance. "Most of us had no idea we were choosing that kind of afterlife! You can't punish us like this!"

"A crime committed in ignorance," Hinoka roared, attempting to gut Beruka once more, "Is still a crime! While normal mortals live their days out... you drink of their blood and gain immortality. You live unnatural lives... and so the gods punish you, justly, for every stolen year you spend in the living realm. I'm _trying_ to save you! Even now, as you live, you're only lengthening your sentence... punishing yourselves."

"Why should the gods care?" Camilla cried, and deftly blocked, countered. Hinoka leapt back with the force of Camilla's next merciless swing. "Whether we live our afterlives in this realm or the other... why should they care?"

"Because," the horned woman growled, and swung, and though she did not hit she caught Selena's sleeve on fire and _how this agony burned_. "That is the will of the gods! The will of their universal design! And they will rain consequences upon us all if you defy them!"

Beruka's fingers twitched. Then, twitched again, and though her chest, her torso remained frozen, her arms were free once more. She threw the emptied bottle with all her might, smashing to shards as Hinoka, distracted, was forced to kick it away from her. Elegant, with a long, drawing movement that suited her form-- but still her leggings tore, drew blood.

"Let them," Beruka growled simply, unable to reach her own axe without risking being frozen once more. She lifted her bladed gloves, those same ones she'd met Selena with once upon a time. "If it's for Lady Camilla, _let them_ burn." 

Hinoka, knowing that the Holy Water's effects were beginning to run out, turned her blade completely towards Beruka, "You are a cruel woman to say that."

And Selena, when she could withstand the agony of the burn upon her sleeve no longer, trembled, fell to the ground, uselessly trying to put the fire out. "Oh gods... what _is_ this!?"

"Selena!" Camilla swung her blade just in time to block the blow that would have ended her forever.

" _That_ is the punishment you earn for every year you spend in this world, drinking of mortal beasts' blood," the horned woman announced hotly, making a second swing that Camilla could barely counter. "For I am Rinkah, Princess of the Oni... the mortals call us angels at times. Demons, at others. But know only this: we mete out the punishment of the gods! Entreating them now will do you no good, _vampire_."

"It burns," Selena wept, the flames beginning to flicker away in the night, unable to sustain their form in this realm for long. "Gods.... gods..."

"You are newly-turned, fledgeling," Rinkah smirked, and twisted, forcing Camilla back as the flames on her weapon grew even stronger. "Barely a lunar cycle into your offense. The gods are capable of mercy, too... accept your end now, and you may join the painless afterlife all mortals are granted, instead of the years of punishment the undead accrue! We can save you yet... _Selena_."

Selena gasped, the pain in her arm throbbing in a phantom ache of its burn, unlike any wound she had ever obtained before, "My... name..."

"The gods know all,"

Rinkah's expression flickered, momentarily, as if she were not wholly herself. And, with the moonlight glinting off her hair, so very white, her horns, the curves of her muscles and her flaming club, Selena believed it-- an avenging angel, she thought, a demon come to Earth.

"You can't have her!" Camilla lashed back, and with her own blade, forged from the unholiest of metals, managed to scratch Rinkah just the slightest.

"Heh... it's been a while since anybody drew my blood," and Rinkah's eyes flashed with a fire born of the gods themselves. And she leapt, became as bright, burning, hot as the sun itself--

"Hrk!" Hinoka gasped, Beruka's blade at last cutting deep, harsh against her human skin. As the ice fell from her breasts, from her sides, from her legs, Beruka lunged, drew her axe, and struck.

Ding.

The axe bounded harmlessly over Rinkah's skin, and the flame faded from her aura, dimmer now, barely visible in the night.

"Rinkah, what..." Hinoka breathed, heavily holding her wounded side, certain to bleed out if nothing was done.

"Tactical retreat," Rinkah scowled, hunching over her protectively, hands covering Hinoka's wounded thighs. More towards Beruka than anyone else, "But don't think I won't be back for you! Hff..."

And then, into the night, the Princess of the Oni vanished, bearing her injured hunter with her.

They were quiet, then, for a moment, listening-- to the breeze in their wake. The lavender upon their border had been trampled to bits and pieces, but still Camilla took a sprig, held it to her breast.

"We won't get another opportunity like this," Camilla sighed. And then, letting the flower slip away in the wind, "Krakenberg... it's time to say goodbye."


	6. Day 5

* * *

**02 Sept||Sunshine**

* * *

Out at sea, Selena thought, the setting sun was beautiful.

Not merely because she could see the sky more vividly than ever, now that she'd turned, nor because it was the only time of day she could see the sun without feeling its burn upon her skin, a burn that reminded her of the years of flame that would someday become her destiny. It was beautiful because of _Beruka_.

She would get up every evening at the crack of dusk, silent-- her movements so slight that Selena wouldn't have even woken if not for the fact that Lady Camilla was an awful blanket hog and Beruka's body heat, however scarce, was all that kept her warm most days.

Quietly, Beruka would go about dressing herself. Sometimes she came to bed in the lightest pieces of her clothes, but most of the time, Lady Camilla had undressed them both to nothing, chiding, "These will be the only clothes we have for a while yet... we can't have you being naughty, Beruka dear, and ripping them to shreds so soon." And then, on most days, bare skin against bare skin would evolve into exactly what such sensations evoked, and Selena would revel in how Camilla's breasts felt against her face, how wonderfully tightly, vise-like, Beruka's walls would grip her fingers. How spectacular it felt to cry out, to know nobody else could hear her out on the open seas.

Sometimes, they danced like that until midmorning light began to filter through their curtains.

But as the sun began its decline in the evening, as they began to wake from slumber, Beruka would rise. She dressed more quickly, out here at sea, than she had in the manor-- less armor, Selena realized vaguely, though she could never really pinpoint exactly _what_  she had abandoned.

And so, as night fell, Beruka would stand upon the deck of their ship, a vessel of sixteen guns that seemed far too large for merely three people. She would watch the sun fall, and Selena would watch Beruka from the safety of the shade, watch how the sun played against her skin like those last, terrifying remnants of fire that had danced over Selena's arm that night at Manor Krakenberg.

It seemed to arc over her curves like lightning, crackle in the air like bits of thunder, and at times, Selena worried that the sun would burn her away entirely, leaving only the spark and flux of electricity in her wake, glittering in the light. But always, even as the sun filtered through her billowing shirt, rendering the outline of her back visible-- always, the light faded before she did.

On some nights, she would turn the sails. On others, she would clean out the guns, as if they might need to be used someday, as if gunpowder or cannons were even _on board_. But most nights, she would lift her eyes towards the earliest appearances of the stars, and lock herself in the navigation room for hours, until she was satisfied with their course.

Some nights, she would turn around to Selena and say, "Pirates coming out of a victory, due North. Still licking their wounds. Ask Lady Camilla if she wants fresh blood."

(Lady Camilla, on a less-than-sumptuous diet of dry, crumbling bloodtack and whatever fish they could catch, always agreed.)

Once, as Selena watched the sun flicker off Beruka's skin, leaping in the air like fire, Camilla sidled up to her in the shade, only a blanket wrapped around her naked form.

"We ought to call her 'captain' here, you know," Camilla whispered, watching Beruka watch the sun. "In another life... _The Marzia_ was a feared pirate ship. She was _The Seawyvern_ , then."

"You mean... this ship isn't yours?" Selena answered, furrowing her brow.

"Well... in a manner of speaking," Camilla chuckled quietly. "My father owned many trading ships, all those years ago... and even more frigates and skirmish ships for their protection. During the purges of the 400s, I was desperate to lay claim to any one of them in order to escape out to sea. But over the years, they had all been sold or stolen... it was pure chance that I recognized _The Marzia_ and snuck aboard, intending to challenge the captain to a duel for its rights."

"Beruka?" Selena raised her brows. "I can't imagine anyone surviving a fight against you, Lady Camilla."

"Well, she had only just usurped the ship from its previous captain... a mentor of hers, I'm told," Camilla sighed, watched electricity crackle between Beruka's fingertips as she held her hand up to the light. "It was scarcely a fair fight. So I turned her instead of ending her life, there... I oft wonder if that was the kindest choice, but I have never once regretted it. Perhaps I am merely... selfish that way."

"She cares for you," Selena shook her head. "More than anything else in this world... more than the world itself, even. Maybe she shows it in that weird way of hers, but you'd have to be blind not to see it."

"I suppose the saying is that love makes us blind," and Camilla watched the last of the sun filter through Beruka's clothes, nearly transparent here. "Just like the light."

"Lady Camilla," Beruka turned around at last, addressing them. The last motes of sunlight shone still, in her eyes. "Selena."

"Good evening, my darling," Camilla cooed, reaching out to hold her close once the light was gone completely. "My dear Beruka."

"Lady Camilla," she began, even as Camilla pulled her face into a vast bosom. Slightly muffled, "I should return to navigation. We are off-course from our objective."

"It can't wait for one night?" Camilla questioned with her eyes.

"It cannot," Beruka replied, lifting her head. "If you want fresh blood tomorrow... I smelled gunpowder on the air."

"It _has_ been a while," Camilla admitted, and reluctantly let her free. "I'm sure you're looking forward to it, too... and I can hardly force my sweet Selena to suffer through another moon of that dreadful _bloodtack_."

"Understood," Beruka answered, and made her way to step inside.

Selena intercepted her, "Wait, Beruka."

"If you have issue with this plan, speak now," Beruka's expression was as blank as ever, but she turned her head to the side in an effort to convey her curiosity. "Otherwise, I would ask you to refrain from interrupting."

"Beruka," Selena took Beruka's wrist in her hand, could almost feel the pulse of the sun upon it. "Why do you do this every evening?"

Beruka was silent for a minute. Camilla, still upon the deck, froze where she stood. Her eyes were curious, too.

"In my mortal life, I was in the habit of waking early," Beruka answered at last, pulling her wrist from Selena's slackening grasp. "It... reminds me of what it was like."

"What do you mean by _it_?" Selena's face scrunched in confusion.

Beruka paused, thought for a moment. Then, shortly: "Life."

And then, with the last of the sun's glow fading from her skin, dissipating like static in the air, Beruka kissed her.

This time, Selena did not ask why, but merely felt. _Alive,_ she thought, Beruka's lips warming her to the very bone. More alive than she'd ever been, even when her heart pumped blood that was not stolen, even when her flesh and bones were mortal.

"Oh," Selena breathed, understanding at last why Beruka would let herself burn for just a minute in the light.

"Excuse me, now," she replied, tone flat. But her fingers lingered upon Selena's cheek, and parted but reluctantly.

Then, Beruka walked away, heading towards the navigation room-- and Selena did not think it was her imagination when, for just a second, she glanced back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bloodtack: something like vampiric hardtack equivalent. think "scab cake."


	7. Day 6

* * *

**03 Sept||Secret**

* * *

It was quiet out at sea, undisturbed, and Selena filled her hours helping Beruka rig the sails, fishing for any sustenance fresher than their rations, or gazing at the stars, weather permitting. And when the weather was not, Lady Camilla would order them both indoors, and they would while away the hours with board games, or embroidery. And though the blood in their veins ran colder than ever nowadays, whet with water instead of wine, Selena too could feel their warmth.

But there, on _The Marzia's_ deck, there were even yet hours of loneliness, of solitude. And secrets, Selena thought, gazing out towards the horizon where dawn began to rise.

She loved Beruka like a blade loves a whetstone; loved Camilla like a river loves a sea. There was never a question, as far as that went, never-- not when they fought side by side, and cleaned each others' wounds afterwards. Not when they hungered, together, trying not to show how thoroughly disgusted they were with their seafaring rations. Not when they feasted in the wake of victory, stumbling drunk from rum-laden pirates' blood. She loved, and Selena did not question this.

But still, some small doubt budded in her heart, something that made her wonder if she had chosen the right path. The sun, just as it began to peek up over the horizon, sparked and burned against her skin, and she didn't feel as brave as Beruka had seemed. Selena shuddered even at that tiny exposure to the fire of the gods, and tried to imagine what it might be like to feel that for a year, a decade, a century. No reprieve. She recalled that half-minute of fire, the one that ran up her arm, ruined her sleeve. How much it had hurt, worse than scalding herself on a forge when trying to repair weapons, worse than her first truly serious wound as a mercenary, the one that left a scar down her side. A hundred times worse.

And if even the sun felt like this to her, now...

A subtle splashing noise, then a far _less_ subtle thud on deck, and Selena pivoted away from the aft of the ship, the very edge she'd been standing towards, drawing her sword in the same motion.

"I'm not here to kill you or yours," Rinkah crossed her arms, the water on her boots drying rapidly. "Not this time at least."

"As if!" Selena barked, crouching more lowly, trying to see if she could make an evasive maneuver. At last, she decided her best chance at getting back to her covenmates was to go for an attack, then use any opportunity to simply _run_. She lunged, the sun glinting off the steel of her sword.

"I said, I'm not here to kill you," Rinkah caught it by the blade with one hand. Tossed the entire sword overboard with her next movement, and crossed her arms, the injury no worse than a papercut. "If I wanted to I could have purged this entire damned ship. Heh... it's as simple as setting your cabin chambers on fire."

"Then why haven't you?" Selena scowled, hurrying over the edge to see if her sword was even still salvageable from the depths of the sea. It was long gone, buried in the depths.

"The gods want me to make you a final offer," Rinkah roared, her brows furrowing in obvious distaste towards this choice. "For though we Oni mete out the punishment of the gods... we too mete out their mercy!"

"I don't buy your kind of 'mercy,'" Selena sneered. "What, are you going to offer to kill me again?"

"Your change is long irreversible by now," Rinkah frowned, her expression solemn, "Eleven moons have passed since your turning. But if I slay you now... the gods have agreed to waive your sentence of less than one year. You can enter an afterlife without pain. A place where you can meet once more  A wise woman would say yes."

"And what makes you think I will?" Selena demanded, crossing her arms as if to shield herself from whatever blow she might be dealt.

"Nothing," Rinkah answered, eyes narrowed. "Save for the gods. The gods know everything. They know... you _question_."

The sun pricked at Selena's skin, forced her to wonder. She shifted, discomfited by the sensation.

"And what if I say yes? Hypothetically," Selena did her best not to falter, but still... her thoughts riddled with questions. "What happens to them... Beruka and Lady Camilla?

"If Hinoka finds them... it'll be all her own doing," Rinkah tisked with disdain. "It would be dishonorable for an envoy of the gods to slay them now, when they're practically sitting ducks. And I have sworn to the gods that I will not. But know this: they _will_ be killed someday. Maybe in this generation of hunters. Maybe in the next. But a vampire can outrun their end no more than you can outrun the rise of dawn itself. And those are days, or years of extra punishment added to their crime. Maybe centuries."

"And... in the afterlife?" Selena's hands seemed to crack with the sun's energy as dawn rose further. She buried them under her arms, tried not to think about how they _burned_.

"Even if I killed them tomorrow, it would be 600 years before Beruka would be given this painless afterlife. 1500 for your Lady Camilla," Rinkah recited. A frown, "But you would see them again, someday... that's better than some of the sinless are afforded."

"I doubt that," Selena bit her lip, the rosy haze of dawn spreading across clouds in droves by now.

"Don't think that the gods' own are never punished," Rinkah barked, her hackles raised even further. "The Oni Realm and the Mortal Afterlife can never cross... be grateful the gods don't ask you to carry out _your own_ punishment."

"No... that can't be," Selena searched her face, analyzing. At last came to a conclusion, connected the dots. " _This_ is the punishment, isn't it? You. What do _you_ get out of this if I say yes?"

"Besides the satisfaction of purging one of _your kind_ from Earth?" Rinkah laughed, bitter. "One more day with Hinoka than I'm allowed."

"One day, huh? You let them send you on this ridiculous quest, across an ocean, for one day?" Selena, strangely, felt an odd pity bloom in her at that. And perhaps inspired by that love, "My answer is no. Maybe, someday, I'll burn. But one more day with Beruka and Lady Camilla... that's more urgent."

"... I see. Hah, punishment indeed," Rinkah sheathed her weapon over her back once more. "I was an agent of mercy, today. For your sake, I hope you don't regret your choice."

"Never," Selena swore. "Tell the gods where they can put their so-called 'mercy' for me."

"Brave of you to say that. When we meet again, Selena, know this," Rinkah scowled, and prepared to step upon the sea once more. "It will be my duty to kill you. And I don't spare people twice."

"I know," Selena replied levelly, and wondered if she too wasn't making a mistake by not calling for Lady Camilla, for Beruka, for both of them to put an end to their Oni foe once and for all.

Perhaps it wasn't important, Selena thought, since she was sworn by the gods themselves to keep their location from her hunter companion. Perhaps it might be, later, if their coven met that pair in battle, if their lives hinged on victory. And perhaps, one day in the future far, far away from now, she would regret her decision to reject the gods' mercy as she burned in flames a thousand times worse than the scant sun she stood in now.

But for now, Selena thought, making her rounds back to the cabin...

"Selena, darling, it's _very_  late," Camilla stood at the doorway, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Do you intend to stay up past dawn?"

"You'll burn if you stay out any longer," Beruka added, in her own very strange way of caring. "You said you didn't like that."

"... it's nothing," Selena sniffed. Then, faintly flushing, "I'll, um, see you both in bed soon, I guess."

"I'll save a pillow for you, dear," Camilla cooed, hugging Beruka's head to one of her breasts. An obvious tease, if Selena had ever seen one.

"Right," she shook her head, and cast a glance behind her. Rinkah had already long disappeared, no longer even a visible speck on the vast, vast horizon.

Their quiet life on this ship, this hidden place that even the gods' envoys themselves could just barely reach... it felt safe, then. One more day, Selena thought, a smile on her lips as she jogged to catch up with her lovers, and if she seemed less reticent when undressing that night, more brazen between the sheets... well. Beruka cared little for such nuances, and Camilla knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

 _One more day_ , Selena thought, even as her fingers trailed up Beruka's thigh, face buried in Camilla's bosom. One more day would be enough, but her heart hoped for many, many more.


	8. Day 7

* * *

**04 Sept||Free Prompt||Inheritance**

* * *

The last records of them, Soleil knew, had been from hundreds of years ago. Scarce indeed, she thought, but she was not so old as to be old-fashioned... not yet. And so, for the entirety of her forty-three years of unlife, she had searched the records meticulously.

A mention in a colonial newspaper. An early novel writ by a mysterious Mlle. Camille A. The occasional photograph or rendering-- of women smiling at a speakeasy, of girls dancing at a ball in the _Palais Cyrkensia_ , of a naval captain's family that seemed just this side of too-familiar. A friend of hers, a Count Siegbert whose multi-great-grandmother had inherited Manor Krakenberg's estate from a woman who matched every description in the stories she'd seen, a Countess Camilla that lay only in their family lore, kept a secret for generation after generation.

(Count Siegbert was a horrible liar, Soleil thought, and decided it was a good thing she hadn't conveyed to him the exact nature of her mortality... or lack thereof.)

And so, it was an odd thing that led to her discovering Fort Dragonfall, an odd thing indeed. From tracing their paths, doing her best to point out locations of likely, or near-enough-to-likely residences, Soleil had expected to find them somewhere along her journey. A long one, she thought, but that would be okay-- she was immortal, now, and she had all the time it would take.

Thus, the first thing Soleil noticed about Fort Dragonfall was not its sturdy walls built for a hundred years' war, nor its low-clinging towers that did not even surpass the foliage nearby-- but rather, that her first guess had been the correct one.

"And who might you be, dear?" the woman who had answered the door crossed her arms beneath her chest, glancing at her curiously.

Soleil compared her appearance to the description she had been given, once, when she had managed to arrange a meeting with her coven's leader, a Mssr. X. Found that they matched up exactly.

"My name is Soleil," she replied, and bowed deeply. "May I presume I have the pleasure of speaking to Madame C?"

"You do, indeed... though back in my day, _Madame_ was a title reserved for women much older than I," was her cautious reply. "May I ask how you found this place?"

"Clues and ideas and luck, I guess," Soleil flustered to be in the presence of such a great beauty. The presence of such a _legend_. "I met with Monsieur X, and his advice really helped."

"Monsieur X... so Xander's already started referring to himself by such a grown-up title," and the woman softened, something less reserved in her voice. "Well, I do suppose he always seemed much older than the rest of us... much, much older. Please come in. I can get you something to drink...?"

"From an amazing woman like you? ... an eldritch, even?" Soleil's gaped. "I couldn't possibly..."

"Oh, you _are_ a cute one," Camilla pinched her cheek, led her into the sitting room. "I've magic enough to heat water for tea, but little else... I'm scarcely what you would call _eldritch_. That's rather more like my brother Le-- well, I suppose he took the Monsieur title as soon as he could."

"No, uh," Soleil sat down carefully, as if afraid to tarnish the sofa by merely sitting in it. "Lord Leo said he wouldn't take the title until Lady Flora did... and, well, he said that she's never really been one for nobility. I don't really know why... she would look _amazing_  in some of the dresses I've seen them wear in books."

"This would be... close to their 1300th anniversary by now, wouldn't it?" Camilla guessed.

"1400-somethingth, I think," Soleil scrunched up her face as she thought. "Sorry I don't remember anything more specific... I only met them once, when I was first turned."

"That's all right, darling," Camilla shook her head, smiled just slightly. "I'm sure you didn't seek me out to gossip about my brother."

"I have a few questions," Soleil admitted, clasping her hands together. Earnestly, and with all of her heart, "I beg of you, Madame... tell me how you found true love."

"Oh?" Camilla looked taken aback by the suggestion. "That's hardly something you'd want to ask a woman called _Madame_. My given name Camilla will suffice, if you wish to speak on personal matters."

"Lady Camilla, then," Soleil entreated. "Before I die, all I want is to find true love... please, tell me how!"

"Before you die?" Camilla narrowed her eyes curiously. "My dear, I don't know if anybody happened to mention this to you yet, but we vampires are--"

"Immortal," Soleil picked at her skirt, ventured a smile. "But since Madame A was killed fifty years ago, and Grand Monsieur A hasn't been heard from in over a decade... I'm. Well, I guess _nobody_ can face years and years of burning with a smile on their face. I'm a little scared... but! I think it'll all have been worth it, if I live long enough to find my true love."

"Then Xander... no. I should say _Monsieur X_. He came across this title by heredity, then," Camilla's expression darkened, "If our kind's straits are so dire as to lose Monsieur A, that might not be the first question you wish to ask me."

"No, I mean it. Please, tell me," Soleil insisted, and Camilla saw that the smile upon her face was a maiden's smile, genuine, pure.

A child's smile, Camilla thought, and softened.

"Long, long ago, in a faraway land," she at last gave in. "There lived four siblings, in a manor on the sea. Their father, a wealthy but cruel man, had all he wished for... save one last thing: immortality. Those children became the test subjects for many horrible and strange experiments, and at last entered a state where they were neither dead nor alive; could neither be killed nor wholly brought back to health. But a beautiful vampire woman named Arête found them, and helped them vanquish their cruel father. And, when she discovered that she could not undo with magic the damage that their father had wrought... she did the only thing she could do, to save their souls at all."

"She turned them," Soleil gasped, unable to fathom what it might be like to _not choose_.

"She did," agreed Camilla, and tried not to think about how Madame A had passed without her knowing. "And she guided them, until at last they learned to survive on their own. The brave, dauntless eldest brother became a uniting force for our kind everywhere. The clever and noble youngest brother traveled the world to learn how to best help our people, at last entering a long and happy marriage with a woman of similar goals. And the selfless, warm-hearted youngest sister reminded all of our kind that even _we_ can find happiness on Earth. But as for the eldest sister..."

"Yes?" Soleil's eyes sparkled excitedly.

"The eldest sister was fearful, and wanted so desperately to be loved," Camilla sighed. "That, while running from the hunters, she met a strong and handsome lady-pirate... and upon discovering that she was not as strong as she had seemed, thought, 'this is a woman I can protect,' and turned her, that she could continue to protect her evermore. And together, for many, many years, the two of them grew stronger together, and the eldest sister learned what it felt like to be protected, too. That was how I met Beruka."

"I've seen pictures," Soleil offered. "It's always a woman who looks a lot like you, and two others..."

"Beruka is the one with the fuller cheek, the squared jaw," Camilla smiled just a bit. "And the most adorable button nose in the world."

"You're so lucky, Lady Camilla," Soleil sighed dreamily. "She's soooooo cute."

"I am lucky indeed," and Camilla's gaze turned tender, "Because fate blessed me with _two_ wonderful women to love... for, years later, when the eldest sister returned to the manor by the sea, there came a woman to serve as her guard there, whose very presence and wit seemed to wash away every bad memory of the place wherever she stepped. Without so much as picking up a broom, she left it so that every hall seemed to sparkle. And so the selfish eldest sister turned her, too, and we welcomed Selena into our fold."

"Selena..." Soleil trailed off. "I was turned by a man named Inigo... he said Selena might recognize him by an older name. 'Laslow,' he said, or at least 'Azur.' She would be the one with the brightest hair and the most lethal arrow, he said."

Camilla laughed, "I have never heard a more apt description."

"Does she live here?" Soleil questioned curiously.

"I daresay she does," Camilla answered. "She and Beruka both. I expect they'll return from sparring with each other within the hour... oho, they're quite a sight to behold. Perhaps you'd better not look, lest I become jealous. But you _are_ welcome to stay for dinner, if you have more questions."

"I think I'll be okay," Soleil smiled, bright. "I'll leave right away so I can find her-- my own true love. I just... I just want to know one more other thing."

"Just one?" Camilla turned her head, faintly bemused.

"What will you do now?" Soleil asked. "Now that you're all together...here in a home that you made together."

"I expect we'll make arrangements in case Xan-- _Monsieur X_ declares a state of emergency," Camilla clicked her tongue, unused to the title. "In case another generation of hunters arises. But we'll manage to stay by each others' sides during the crisis... we always do."

"And then?" Soleil whispered, her eyes full of the hopes of youth.

It seemed, Camilla thought, that they glistened with the dream of a life, forever, amidst the ones you love. A youth whose hopes hadn't yet been crushed by the deaths of old mortal friends, hadn't yet been destroyed along with their even older immortal friends. And after all, she decided, it was no less dangerous to quash a dream than to let that dream live on forever.

And so, Camilla let a smile play upon her lips, and told her what she needed to hear. The legacy this girl wanted to inherit more than anything, the legacy Camilla herself wanted so badly to be guaranteed--

"We'll live happily ever after, of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading.


End file.
